Wired circuit boards employing discrete point to point wiring are often utilized when the volume of circuit boards to be produced does not warrant the production of etched printed circuit boards. Wired circuit boards employing discrete wiring are generally produced by connecting conductive pads on a circuit board with individual wires to form a desired interconnection pattern. Since wired circuit boards are generally produced with automated wire routing machinery, this process is particularly beneficial when it is desired to produce several prototype circuit boards or a limited number of circuit boards for production.
A number of methods are known for producing wired circuit boards. One such method is described in co-pending application Ser. No. 266,620 filed 5/22/81 by the same inventor and assignee as the present invention. Therein disclosed is a method in which interconnecting wires are routed around guide pins upwardly projecting through a circuit board with wires soldered point to point as they are routed from a starting connection point to a final correction point. The routed wires connect selected conductive pads leaving predefined areas free of wiring. These areas are reserved for components such as dual-in-line integrated circuit packages. After completion of wire routing on the circuit board, a thermoplastic sheet is placed over the network of wires to adhere the wires to the circuit board.
Other methods of producing wired circuit boards are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,981,076; 3,842,190; 3,701,838; and 3,694,792.